Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

"What? But we didn't do anything..."

Christen simply shook his head: "At Rhine Life, thinking is doing."

At Rhine Labs, thinking is doing. This was originally a motto to encourage anyone with dreams and imagination to go for it, but when spoken by the commander-in-chief, it became a terrifying warning on par with "Big Brother is watching you."

Himer was momentarily speechless. But Christen didn't seem to care much about it, and instead continued to ask:

"What do you plan to do? If I hadn't discovered this, and no one had informed me that you took that test subject out of Rhine Lab, what were you planning to do after that?"

"Ifrit is not an experimental subject!"

Himer's tone was somewhat angry. Christensen clearly knew Ifrit's name, but still used the term "experimental subject" to describe Ifrit, which was discriminatory.

But Christen didn't correct the way she addressed him; she simply rested her head on one hand and waited quietly for Himer's reply.

After calming down, Himer opened her mouth.

This wasn't the first time she'd heard this question. It had been asked of her by Director Dorothy after she presented the plan to her.

Undoubtedly, as one of the participants in the Flame Demon Project, although Hermer was unaware of the true nature of the project beforehand and only regarded the experiment on Ifrit as a clinical trial of chimeric therapy, once the truth came out, she would inevitably face investigation and charges.

Even if she were to be acquitted due to her ignorance of the whole affair, she would still face suspicion and investigation from within the Rhine Lab after Ifrit's disappearance—she was responsible for taking care of Ifrit's daily life and was the last and most likely person to have contact with Ifrit. Moreover, her attitude towards Ifrit had already been observed by the vast majority of those involved in the experiment.

Once she is investigated and placed under house arrest, even if Ifrit is rescued, who will she rely on?

It couldn't possibly be Saria. Not only Himeru, but even if Roy were here, he would believe that Saria, who hadn't yet experienced the Balrog incident and hadn't grasped the Commander's true intentions, would prioritize protecting Rhine Lab over Ifrit's safety.

Even when Director Dorothy advised her to abandon the plan, she never actually stopped it.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Dorothy; she was simply leaving herself a way out, a Plan B. Getting Ifrit out of there was better than staying in the Rhine and suffering further torment.

Looking at Himer's expression, Christen knew that she probably hadn't considered any follow-up plans.

"What an innocent child."

With this thought escaping from the depths of her heart, Christensen understood the situation.

A child as naive as her would never think of asking Ferdinand for help. In her eyes, he would only be another terrifying person.

Christensen had to admit that Ferdinand, who had never posed a significant threat to her in the past, was now causing her some trouble, so much so that she had to personally intervene in this trivial matter.

Christen didn't care about the ownership of Rhine Life, but Rhine Life was still useful to her. The fuel tank hadn't reached the stage where the rocket could be abandoned or cut up after a successful launch, so it couldn't be handed over to Ferdinand yet.

Christen silently considered this in his mind.

Since it wasn't Himer who found Ferdinand, it means there must be someone within Rhine who knows the situation and has considerable authority. Perhaps we should use this opportunity to lure them out.

With that in mind, she made a decision:

“Researcher Himer, I can give you this opportunity.”

"I can approve halting the Flame Demon Project and treating Ifrit. But there's one problem."

"Ifrit must be placed under the joint supervision of you and Saria."

It sounds as if Ifrit is some kind of dangerous substance.

Hammer frowned slightly, but did not object.

The fact that the Chief Executive offered such terms was beyond her expectations. She had thought that this office trip would be the end of her career at Rhine Life, but she never expected that the Chief Executive would approve the treatment of Ifrit. This was already a great thing.

As for whether the Commander-in-Chief had other plans, Himer knew very well that she certainly did. But Himer had no choice. The Commander-in-Chief had never said she could refuse the opportunity she had been given from the beginning.

The commander-in-chief, on the other hand, is more at ease.

She knew Saria's character and style very well; she was Rhine Lab's strongest shield, and would never fall or betray her.

Hand it over to her; the commander-in-chief is confident he can catch the person who stirred up trouble.

Volume 1: Chapter 252 From the Stars

Himer was taken away by the commander.

Upon hearing this news, Roy was only taken aback for a moment before offering words of comfort:

"It's okay, don't worry, she'll be fine."

He knew a little about Rhine Lab's situation. As a legitimately employed researcher, it was unlikely that anything would happen to Himer unless there was evidence that she had done anything detrimental to Rhine Lab.

The cancellation of the Balrog Project, if Roy's prediction is correct, is likely due to Ferdinand's machinations, and has absolutely nothing to do with Himer. Even if she were suspected, Christensen wouldn't convict someone for something they haven't even done. After all, this is Columbia, not Ursus. The governor isn't an unlimited noble family.

But the fact that Hamer was taken away also reveals some problems. Christensen wouldn't have done this without a reason; she must have noticed what Hamer and Dorothy were doing behind her back, which is why she made this warning-like gesture.

Ferdinand was as reckless as ever, and Roy had no idea how many of his men were actually on the side of the commander-in-chief. However, it wasn't a new thing for him to be unable to win people over. Didn't you see how, in the end, Xingyuan, whom he treated better than his own son, even slapped him for buying him gifts and not eating with his own son?

After a moment's hesitation, Roy gave the order:

"While it's unlikely that anything will happen to Himer, the Commander-in-Chief has certainly noticed your problem. Avoid any further movement during this time. Especially remember to keep your distance from Ferdinand."

Dorothy paused, somewhat confused: "But Mr. Roy, didn't we promise Mr. Ferdinand that we would let him try out my [Simulated Universe]?"

Roy chuckled upon hearing this and asked in return, "Are you done?"

Dorothy made an "uh" sound, then shook her head somewhat embarrassedly, denying it: "Not yet."

"That's right. We've drawn a picture of a pie. This pie isn't even baked yet, how can we give it to him? Let him wait."

Having already mastered the art of "pie in the sky" with Little Platinum, Roy had no psychological barriers and spoke very naturally.

But Dorothy clearly hadn't experienced this level of workplace manipulation before, and she was a little embarrassed:

"But Mr. Ferdinand will have objections, won't he? He has already fulfilled our requests, while we have done nothing..."

Roy couldn't help but find it a little funny. How to put it... are all mice really this innocent and kind?

However, since I'm not in Colombia, it would be quite difficult for Dorothy to simply make empty promises to Ferdinand, given her personality. I should definitely give Ferdinand some reward to keep him on his side first.

Roy thought for a moment and replied, "How about this, I happen to have something here that might be useful to him. I'll send it to you, and you can give it to him and tell him that this is the advance payment."

"Huh?" Dorothy was somewhat taken aback. She instinctively felt that this wasn't quite right.

Why ask someone to do research when you're paying them? Isn't that just taking advantage of their labor and time?

Mr. Roy is really a bit scary in some ways. Thank goodness he didn't do that to me, otherwise I might have been deceived without even realizing it.

Feeling both scared and relieved, Dorothy ultimately didn't raise any objections.

With the plan finalized, Roy said goodbye to Dorothy and hung up the phone. He then activated the interface of the module system in his mind.

He has always believed in the importance of quality over quantity. His current module combat power is already sufficient to handle, and even dominate, most battlefields. Continuing to add more modules might only lead to drawing modules like [Water Moon], causing him trouble. Therefore, he prefers to save his draw chances or occasionally try his hand at various collectibles.

The quality of collectibles is not fixed, and their effects are usually quite simple, but one of the biggest advantages of collectibles is that they can be given to others to use.

The apocalyptic crisis affects the entire continent of Terra, and there's only one Roy. He can't possibly be present everywhere on Terra at the same time to defend every front. Therefore, the existence of the collectibles is necessary; they can help him strengthen those fronts he can't cover.

However, drawing collectibles doesn't always bring good news, just like the collectible he drew most recently.

Collectible: [From the Stars]

A strange meteorite fragment emitting a faint glow; it didn't originate from a natural disaster, but seems to represent another world.

If Roy remembers correctly, From the Stars should be another game from the same company that made Arknights in his previous life.

That's not entirely accurate, because in Roy's memory, "From the Stars" hadn't even been officially released yet. After releasing a concept promotional PV, there had been no further news. Before Roy's transmigration, there was no definite information about whether it was still under development or what stage the development process had reached.

The fact that this fragment bears the name "from the stars" is certainly intriguing. Coupled with its ambiguous description, Roy is even more convinced that this thing might indeed be more than just a simple object.

Roy tested it repeatedly but still couldn't figure out what its purpose was. This fragment was like Sun Wukong's head—unbreakable by swords, unaffected by lightning, and even a fist imbued with Bounty Hunter A's power wouldn't deform or dent it. If he weren't afraid of actually blowing STELLA up in one blow, Roy would have loved to try it himself.

The only certainty is that it does indeed emit a faint glow at all times, just as described. And as everyone knows, light itself is a form of energy, something that comes from the stars, and perhaps some kind of energy like cosmic radiation. Since it's just a useless decoration for Roy, it's better to hand it over to Ferdinand and see what this most powerful high-energy physicist on Earth can concoct.

Hopefully, he won't suffer a major setback in the area of ​​hole sampling.

Roy inwardly offered his blessings, a mix of sarcasm and genuine goodwill.

"boom!"

Before he could even leave the mall, a loud bang interrupted Roy's thoughts. He immediately turned his head to look in the direction from which the bang came. Also within Block Zero, a plume of black smoke was rising, casting a shadow over the once bright sky.

That feeling just now, was it somewhat like Originium Arts?

Roy reacted immediately, and as if realizing something, he turned around to look at the bounty hunters who were still tied up by Sona:

"You have accomplices?"

The bounty hunter, tied to the ground, gave an awkward smile: "Sir, you're also from Kazimierz, so you naturally know that with such a large market, how could there only be one team like us?"

Volume 1: Chapter 253 A "spectacular" Death

Just like the bounty hunter said, as a Kazimierz, Roy certainly knew what the market was.

Scientific research on Terra is in a contradictory state of being both extremely advanced and extremely backward. On the one hand, a large number of projects that Roy sees as futuristic science fiction are being launched, and some have even taken root. On the other hand, the sacrifices made by these scientific research projects far exceed the limits that the laws of Roy's previous life could tolerate.

If all quick ways to make money are written into the criminal code, then the progress of Terrascience must be inversely proportional to the degree of enforcement of the criminal code. For a century, wealthy Colombians have been promoting the ideals of freedom and equality, while simultaneously buying infected individuals from various countries at exorbitant prices—this has become the norm.

Roy should have expected that if he were truly a native Terran with Terran moral standards, the most direct reaction to the Plot Zero demolition case would be the rampant spread of the black market for human resources and the rise of bounty hunters.

Unfortunately, he overestimated people's bottom line.

"Stay away from that thing, it's about to explode. Do you want to get Oripathy?"

While covering his nose and mouth and cursing, he quickly ran away from a humanoid crystal, scolding his subordinates to follow his example. The tall bounty hunter didn't care at all about the blood debt of an infected person who died at his hands.

To him, it was as if a newspaper editor had typed out an inconspicuous announcement in the paper, "An infected person died during a hunt," and he just happened to see it.

He felt nothing, had no awareness of killing a fellow countryman.

But his compatriots felt the pain.